TASTE: A Stepbrother Romance Read Free Page B

man he moves so gracefully. “How are you, Alice?” I look down at his outstretched hand.
    I extend my hand to make contact. His larger hand engulfs mine. He towers over me, and that is saying something because at five feet, nine inches, I am a tall girl. My gaze meets his and once again I lose my cool and break out into another blush.
    I hold my breath while his eyes roam the length of my body. He drops my hand as if burned and looks away.
    My heart drops. Of course he doesn’t like what he sees. I am reminded of the blond, curvaceous women I have seen him with on several occasions. Why would he find a tall willowy girl like me attractive? My eyes drop to the carpet and I turn away from him. “Well, everyone, let’s eat,” I say with false cheer.
    I see my mother smile. I suppose she is thrilled that I am making the effort to be in the Christmas spirit. We all head for the kitchen.
    I can feel Damon close behind me. I can feel heat radiating from his body and I am tempted to stop abruptly and press my body against his.
    I realize that I am most likely going to spend the entire evening fantasizing about touching and kissing Damon, despite the fact that he just nonverbally rejected me. I am still finding it difficult to believe that he is actually in my house. He is so close yet so very far out of my reach.
    I want to grab my car keys and hot foot it to the door, but I suppose it is too late for that.
    It is going to be a very long night.

Chapter Three
     
    “How is school going, Alice?” Jared asks, breaking the awkward silence that has fallen over the dinner table.
    I look up from my plate for probably the first time since we all sat down to eat. “Uh, great,” I mumble. My eyes immediately revert back to my still full plate. It is just my luck that Damon was placed right in front of me. I can’t bear to look at him.
    I can feel his eyes boring into me.
    I am tempted to meet his gaze, but if I do, I am going to lose my cool again.
    He must be tired of watching me blush by now. He must also think I am a complete dork because of it. I can’t let him see that he has any effect on me. Although, considering that my fair skin has already turned all shades of red since I laid eyes on him, he must have figured it out.
    Jared continues to pry into my school career. “I hear you are aspiring for a degree in chemical engineering. That’s very interesting.”
    I throw my mom a fleeting annoyed glance. It seems I have been a major topic of discussion during their pillow talk sessions.
    She looks away guiltily.
    “Yeah, I’m looking to branch off into pharmaceuticals.” I pray that he ceases with the questions. I don’t want to have to explain to him the reason why I am choosing that path. I can’t bear to bring up my father right now. I will break down if I start taking about him. I think I have suffered enough embarrassment tonight to last me a lifetime.
    I am relieved when all he says is, “that’s great. You’re a smart girl.”
    I smile tightly and continue to eat. Well, not really. All I am really doing is shuffling my food around on my plate.
    I ignore my mother’s look of concern. I am thoroughly pissed at her right now because she is the cause of the uncomfortable position that I’ve found myself in.
    “Damon has chosen the business path,” Jared shares.
    I look up to see him give his father an annoyed look. A smile tugs at my lips. It would seem that he is just as pissed about being here as I am. Who could blame him? He probably had to give up a fun night with his hot girlfriend to be here. The thought of him with another woman makes me green with envy.
    “Uh, that’s nice,” I say briefly making eye contact with him.
    He nods. “Thanks.”
    “So what are your plans, Damon?” My mom pipes in.
    He smiles politely at her, “I found a job actually, in Michigan. I’m heading out right after the holidays.”
    My eyes fly to him, in horror. Michigan ? It’s just as I feared. He is leaving to a far